1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a transferring jack of a flat knitting machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a usual flat knitting machine, a pair of needle beds which contain movable knitting needles are arranged to form an inverted V-shaped form in a side view. In knitting a rib knit fabric by using front and rear knitting needles of this flat knitting machine, it is impossible to decrease stitches at an intermediate portion in a row of stitches.
To solve this problem, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 41-7907 discloses a flat knitting machine, wherein a pair of needles beds, containing movable knitting needles, are arranged to form an inverted V-shaped form in a side view. A transferring jack bed, containing movable jacks in jack grooves, is provided above each needle bed. A stitch to be transferred is transferred from the knitting needle to the transferring jack, and the stitch engaged with the transferring jack is transferred to another knitting needle after the transferring jack engaged with the stitch is moved in a transverse direction.
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-168943 discloses a flat knitting machine, wherein a transferring jack bed is supported above a needle bed by supporting members. Transferring jacks, at the front ends of which stitch engaging portions are formed, are movably arranged in the transferring bed. The transferring jacks are moved forward and backward by a transferring cam accompanied with a carriage. The transferring jack bed is moved in a transverse direction by a driving means provided at one side of the transferring jack bed. A stitch engaged with the stitch engaging portion is moved in a transverse direction and the stitch is transferred to another knitting needle.
Furthermore, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 1-57173, of the present applicant, discloses a flat knitting machine, wherein what is called "four beds" is formed by arranging a pair of front and rear needle beds upward and downward. A stitch is transferred by moving knitting needles in each of the needle beds and the stitch can be transferred in a transverse direction by moving each of the needle beds in such transverse direction.
Furthermore, Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 56-21854, of the present applicant, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-256752 Discloses a flat knitting machine, wherein a transferring jack bed, containing movable jacks grooves, is provided above a needle bed. A stitch to be transferred is transferred from the knitting needle to the transferring jack. The stitch engaged with the transferring jack is transferred to another knitting needle after the transferring jack engaged with the stitch is moved in a transverse direction.
However, in most cases, stitch engaging portions of the transferring jacks of the flat (weft) knitting machine described in the above publications are formed with jack bodies and plate members of elastic material, which are disposed along one side of the jack bodies, and the stitch engaging portions elastically abut each other at the distal portions and are so arranged as to form stitch transferring apertures which allow the distal or tip portions of the knitting needles to enter in a plan view.
According to the above structure, there is a problem that the plate member is quite easily elastically deformed and the stitch transferring aperture is closed when same tension is acted on the stitch engaging portion. Consequently, the stitch cannot be successfully transferred because the knitting needle cannot enter the stitch transferring aperture.
Besides, where a stitch holding shoulder is formed at a base part of the stitch engaging portion, to stop the stitch engaged with stitch engaging portion of the transferring jack, there is a problem that the stitch engaging portion of the transferring jack is elastically deformed due to tension by the stitch engaged with it or a stitch cannot successfully be transferred because the shoulder interferes with a stitch expanding portion of the knitting needle, as the stitch expanding portion is elastically deformed, due to the tension of the stitch which was expanded by the stitch expanding portion.